The arbitrary arrests of several Gen Z activists in Madagascar are causing a “climate of fear” – in the words of Amnesty International – among young activists, who nevertheless say they want to continue to denounce the authoritarian takeover of the ruling junta.

Published on: 04/22/2026 - 09:05 Modified on: 04/22/2026 - 11:24

Madagascar’s Gen Z at the crossroads. The recent arrest of several activists for demonstrating against the military in power on April 10 and 17 has cast a chill on the movement which brought down the regime of President Andry Rajoelina last October.

“Since the arrests, we are paying attention again to the telephone, to what we say in private on the networks, we go to more secure applications when the subjects are sensitive,” Shely Andriamihaja, a member of the Gen Z Madagasikara collective, confides to France 24.

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“The government's objective is really to discourage young people from expressing their discontent. For me, it is a sign that we must return to the streets,” said the 27-year-old activist. For the moment, "we are in the process of discussing what we are going to do. We cannot remain in inertia."

Arrests in the middle of the night

The break with Colonel Michael Randrianirina's junta has been complete since the arrest of six Gen Z activists shortly after the "peaceful march" of April 10 against the slow pace of institutional reforms and the insufficient fight against corruption. Only a few dozen people participated in this gathering, according to the daily Le Monde.

Unacceptable for the military in power, who decided to arrest Herizo Andriamanantena, one of the leaders of the movement, and put him on trial for "endangering state security" and "disturbing public order", as reported by TV5 Monde. Three of his comrades were also arrested in circumstances reminiscent of the actions of a political police.

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“Before, we stopped them in broad daylight. Now, it’s night, in 4x4s without plates,” reports Gen Z Madagascar on Instagram.

“Significant decline in commitments”

Two other young people, Carine Soa Fy and Rija Zoky, were arrested after calling for a support march on April 17. According to the move, they are both injured.

In a joint press release published on April 14, more than 60 civil society organizations had already noted a "significant decline in commitments made in favor of civil and political rights", as well as an "increasingly frequent use of the charge of endangering state security". Amnesty International, for its part, denounced last Friday a “climate of fear” for activists.

Shely Andriamihaja says rumors are now circulating that the government could monitor Gen Z's digital communications with spyware or apps. For her, there is no question of reducing the number of digital publications, nor of changing her political messages.

“On the contrary, we are going to amplify the messages in the face of this type of reaction from the government,” reacts the activist involved in the movement since September. “We feel extremely indignant towards this government which uses the same methods as the previous regime when it comes to dissident voices,” continues the young woman.

“We cannot live in fear”

Will the movement succeed in relaunching itself in the streets? The France 24 correspondent in Madagascar, Gaëlle Borgia, notes that the mobilization went from several thousand people in September 2025 to only “around twenty people” during the last demonstration.

Some people “feel tracked, watched, and they are afraid of being intercepted when they take to the street,” says the journalist.

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For its part, the junta reappointed half of the ministers of the former regime on March 25 after subjecting them to a lie detector. The demands of Malagasy youth, from the fight against corruption to a national consultation paving the way for elections, have remained unheeded.

“We are afraid. But I think that there is something that we have learned from the last seven years and the events of September, which is that we cannot live in fear,” concludes activist Shely Andriamihaja. “Our fight is not over.”

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